Deadly South African Fires Leave a Landscape of Devastation

Wildfires that tore through a coastal South African town on Wednesday, killing at least four people and forcing about 10,000 to evacuate their homes, were still not fully controlled on Thursday, according to local news reports.

Firefighters had worked through the night battling the blazes in Knysna and surrounding areas in the province of Western Cape, which were aggravated by strong winds and parched terrain.

“We do not want the fire to run away with us again, and we need to prevent this,” Clinton Manuel, Knysna’s fire chief, said, according to The Knysna-Plett Herald.

The area has been declared a disaster, and dozens of emergency centers have been set up to help residents unable to return home. It is unclear how the fires started, but a strong storm in the area worsened the situation.

Onlookers saw winds drive flames that consumed a hillside in Kranshoek, a town near Knysna.

Image

A fire in the Kranshoek area.CreditEwald Stander/Associated Press

The Knysna area, which has about 70,000 residents, has long been a tourist destination known for its lush terrain that hugs South Africa’s southern coast.

Video shared by residents showed flames engulfing homes, in some cases burning them to their foundations.

Homes also burned in Plettenberg Bay, which lies 20 miles east.

The Knysna Municipality urged residents to avoid returning to their houses to assess the damage.

Videos taken by those who did return to the area showed burned cars lining the streets and scorched homes.

“Our hearts go out to those who have also lost their belongings, including their homes,” President Jacob Zuma said in a statement on Thursday, in which he also offered condolences to families of those killed in the fires. “The pain is immeasurable.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A7 of the New York edition with the headline: Deadly Fires Scorch Coastal South Africa. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe